Julianne Hough Returning to ‘Dancing With the Stars’ as Fourth Judge

Julianne Hough is returning to the “Dancing with the Stars” ballroom as the fourth judge in season 19, ABC announced Thursday. She will judge alongside Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli when the series returns Sept. 15.

“I’m so excited to be back with my ‘Dancing With the Stars’ family again on a regular basis. I’ve always aspired to be an all-around entertainer, whether I’m acting, dancing or singing, and I’m thrilled for this opportunity that will allow me to continue all of those pursuits,” Hough said. “Derek (Hough) and I just finished our Move Live on Tour, which reminded me how much I miss the interaction with the dance fans that have been so supportive of me in my career. I am warming up the paddles and the sass, and I’m ready to have fun in this new role.”

The 12 professional dancers competing this season are Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, Allison Holker, Hough, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Emma Slater and Karina Smirnoff. The pros will be paired with a new cast of celebrities to be announced Sept. 4 on “Good Morning America.”

“We are delighted to welcome Julianne back to the ‘DWTS’ family,” said executive producer Rob Wade. “Her blend of ballroom dancing experience and unique judging ability make her the ideal choice for the show, and we are very excited to have her, Carrie Ann, Bruno and Len on board.”

I did love dwts. Now it is just a popularity contest. Derek should not have been voted off with his partner. She is a much better dancer than the daughter of duck dinesty’s daughter. Its not a dancing contest anymore. I love Julianne being on the show as the fourth judge, but I will not watch it anymore.

Julianne will be an awesome judge. She is a beautiful, talented and kind soul. Julianne was the youngest ever World Champion and has won two MBT’s on DWTS. This gal knows what she is doing and quite honestly, I agreed with her two controversial comments as a guest judge. Julianne will bring a fresh perspective , spunk and youth to the judges table. Cannot wait for this season of DWTS!!!

I must be the only person who actually likes Julianne and while I thought she could have toned her negative comments down a bit, I thought it was refreshing to hear honesty. I see most of the people posting thoughts all her comments were negative but go back and watch her again. She also gave positive comments and except for Maks and Mark I pretty much agreed. And I have not always liked the way Mark showcases himself way too much and his partner less. I will enjoy watching her judge and believe if she is on the panel every week she will be honest and constructive I thought Carrie Ann gave high scores to those MEN who she seems attracted to, that bothered me more than Julianne.

“Perfectionist” people may like her. But who is she to say all of this? She is the youngest professional dancer who won all these achievements at a young age, but if you add up all the experiences she needs to be a judge, she has a long way to go. People like her because she’s pretty and she can dance and has that “magnetism” when she does which immediately qualifies her to be a judge?? People base things on popularity way too much nowadays.

I didn’t like her as a judge last year when she was a guest. She was a real bitch to some of the pros for sure. It’s one thing to judge but don’t turn against them all the way. Maybe she will be better this time, hopefully.

She did not make a good impression as a guess judge because if her nasty attitude. She should stick to dancing. And isn’t it a conflict of interests to be judging while her brother is on the show? Bad move.

I’m sorry to hear this. I agree with Tess that her guest judge stint left me with a distaste for her because of her comments. She was not honest, she was rude and snide with her comments. We definitely don’t need another judge to add to the mix. It is bad enough with Carrie Ann and Bruno. I have watched DWTS since the first season, and I’ll give it a chance on this new season, but this may be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I believe they are making a huge mistake.

This is too bad. Her stints as a guest judge left a bad taste in my mouth with her often rude commentary. There is a difference between being “honest” and just being snide. The show doesn’t need yet another judge anyway, 3 is plenty.

Yes, more talking less dancing! Go figure. I will watch the show delayed so I can fast forward through the judging part and vote for the couple I liked best. I don’t care if a judge thinks they “just phoned it in” or not. I loved the show that Kenny Ortega judged. He was a class act. Julianne is no Kenny! Is the judging pool so small that this is the best they could come up with? I know they can’t afford some one with the caliber of Kenny Ortega, but there should be someone better and more qualified, with more experienced than Julianne!!! I think I would be just as disappointed with Abby Lee Miller